Kohala Lighthouse Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get real about this stretch. I'm looking at the Big Island side here, specifically Kohala Lighthouse. The whole 16-day window is a tough one, honestly. The wind is just relentless, hammering out of the east and east-northeast at 18-25 mph for days on end, and it's always coming straight across the break. That cross-shore breeze is ruining what could be a fun wave, turning it into a lumpy, messy cross-chop.

The water temp is sitting at 81°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

For the first ten days, from Sunday the 23rd right through to the end of August, it's a write-off. Every single session is rated as poor surf conditions. We're looking at swell heights from 4 ft to 8 ft, but the wind just kills it. The combined energy is moderate, but it doesn't matter with that wind. There's a gap of clean surf that lasts the entire first week. Nothing worth paddling out for.

We finally see a flicker of hope on Tuesday the 1st of September. The morning shows an 8 ft swell from the ENE with a 9-second period. The wind drops to a light breeze, only 6 mph from the east. That's the best we're going to get, but it's still a cross-shore wind and the conditions are only described as marginal with questionable tides. The combined energy is strong. For a spot like Kohala Lighthouse, which is a consistent reef break for advanced surfers, you'd need the wind to swing offshore to really make it sing, but it's not happening. It's still not clean, but it's the closest thing to a session all week. After that, the wind picks back up and we're back to the same old story.

Heading into the second week, the swell gets much bigger. By Saturday the 5th of September, we're seeing an 8 ft swell from the ENE with a very long period of 14 seconds, and the combined energy is huge. But the wind is still a fresh breeze and cross-onshore, making it lumpy and poor. Sunday the 6th is similar, with a 7 ft swell and 13-second period, but again, the wind is a problem. The only real standout in the whole forecast is Monday the 7th of September. The morning shows an 8 ft swell from the ENE with a 12-second period, huge energy, and for the first time, the wind is a light offshore from the NNW at just 3 mph. That's the cleanest wind of the whole run. It's still a marginal call, but that's your best chance for a clean, powerful wave at this spot. The swell is big enough that it's expert-only territory. This is the one to circle on the calendar, but we're over a week away, so keep your fingers crossed the forecast holds.

Rusty.

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